NC S594

Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan for transitioning North Carolina's child welfare system from county-administered to regionally-administered delivery, with no more than 30 regions operational by January 1, 2022.

Establishes a Social Services Regionalization Working Group convened by the University of North Carolina School of Government to make recommendations on the regional system structure, governance, and implementation timeline by December 1, 2018.

Requires the state to contract with a third-party organization to evaluate the child welfare system and develop a comprehensive reform plan addressing systemic improvements, performance metrics, data collection, and state oversight by January 15, 2018.

Creates the Child Well-Being Transformation Council, a 13-member body located in the General Assembly to improve coordination and communication among child-serving agencies, with initial focus on child protective services beginning July 1, 2020.

Establishes pilot programs for youth drivers license assistance (reimbursing costs for youth in substitute care), waiver of employment requirements for Intensive Alternative Family Treatment foster parents, reduces appeal timeframes for termination of parental rights from 180 to 65 days, and requires foster care licensure approval within three months of application.